An empirical analysis of the history of advertising: Before and after the world war II

Adnan Rahman & Afshan Rahman1 Riphah Center of Islamic Business, Al-Mizan Campus, 274, Peshawar Road, Old Supreme Court Building Email:Adnanrahman86@ymail.com Tel: +92-312-9993530

Abstract
In this study we first analyze the era of advertising before the 2nd world war and then analyze after the Second World War. We recognize the need for advertising and the impact of print and electronic media on the advertising. The impacts of pre and post industrial revolution were discussed in this study. The impacts of technological advancements were also analyze and discussed. At the end we conclude that advertising is the only way to survive in the current competitive market.

Key words: Industrial Revolution, Technology, Advertising, Print media, Electronic Media,
Newspaper, Magazine, Radio, Television.

Introduction:
Three or four centuries ago education was not so popular among the common man so greater quantity of lay man exist in the economy who hardly understood a message through picture or by hearing it, and they could not read or write anything so the businessman/tradesman/trades people started using criers and pictorial signs for selling their products. As the time passes the criers used to attract buyers by flowering descriptions and well decorated pictorial signs, these signs were free from words as peoples were not able to read. In ancient Egypt, Greek and Roman these types of advertisements were practices by the tradespeople. According to Frank Presbrey (1929) in England in the middle ages, customers could find weavers by the sign of the spinning wheel or bookmakers by the sign of the golden boot. When Johann Gutenberg invented movable type and the printing press in Germany in the mid-1400s that printed materials could be mass produce. (Bovee, Thill, Dovel, & Wood. 1995) with this great invention advertisers start printing there adds in greater quantities and in quick time so they became able to reach the far prong areas of the country. According to Presbrey (1929) in the mid-1700s printed posters and signs were appearing all over England, Predecessors to today`s billboards. With the advent/arrival of Industrial Revolution and Technology the shape and pattern of the advertising completely changed.

The Industrial Revolution:

The industrial revolution not only brings mass productions and Economies of scale but also changed the tastes and purchasing patterns of buyers. The industrial revolution brings with itself an endless race of competition, the competition not only among the producers but also among the buyers in preference of one product over another. In England this industrial revolutions starts from 1700 and till now. People before the arrival of industrial revolution used to live on their
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Students (Ms Islamic Business and Finance) Riphah International University RCIB

homelands/Farms and they grow in their farm their basic necessities and used to self dependant. The industrial revolutions increases the gap between the producer and the buyer, as the customers of many craftsmen moved to urban areas for greater comfort, the craftsman lose their contacts and they felt the need of a device or mechanism through which they can easily communicate their messages to the potential customers. The need is then satisfied by advertising.

Technology:
As advertising is a non personal mass communication, so the need of new ways and methods were felt, this need was satisfied upto certain extent by the technology, according to Bovee et al: (1995) during and after the industrial revolution, technological advances changed both the speed and form of communication. The invention of photography gives a new way of showcasing the products. The telegraph, telephone, typewriter, phonograph and motion pictures opened up new avenues for personal and business communication. Newspapers and magazines reached into the urban areas and beyond to bring news and ads to thousands of people. However, once the powerful technologies of radio and television became commonplace, the face of advertising changed forever as print and electronic media expanded the use and impact of advertising. Technology gives a new shape to the print media and electronic media. Before the arrival of technology paper were used but not on such large scale as with the technology gives it this mass usage ability by newspapers and magazines.

Newspaper (Print media):

According to Bovee et al: (1995) of the two major print media, news papers are the oldest, and Benjamin Franklin`s Pennsylvania Gazette built the largest circulation and the largest advertising volume of any newspaper in the colonies. London newspapers of the 1700s carried text-only advertisements for patent medicines books, and other products. Newspapers were generally published once or twice a week, but soon daily newspapers established with the better rail and mail services. In the United States of America the commercial news papers ads of the 1700 were also offered slaves for sale as well as other goods and services. Today U.S. newspapers generally serves a specific geographic area technology brings color to the news papers and snag the readers attention.

Magazine (Print media):

Magazine advertising grew slowly than newspaper advertising because most of the publishers at the start more focuses/depend on the subscription fee. It was The People Literary Companion which was created specifically to push soap powder by mail, and using advertising revenues to subsidize subscription costs, the magazine quickly built a circulation over 500,000. Color Photography in the twentieth century brings a new look of magazine though the cost of making magazine increases but it attracts customers. Bovee et al: (1995).

Radio (Electronic media):

According to Bovee et al: (1995) before World War I experimental radio stations were established at both sides of the Atlantic Ocean, but it was in the year 1920 that a fullcommercial radio station go on the air. The first radio commercial in USA was carried on in 1922 by AT&T station WEAF in New York. In 1926 NBC (National Broadcasting Company) bought all the radio stations of AT&T. Today roughly 5000 AM and 4000 FM radio stations are operating in USA.

Television (Electronic media):

Television is among the most popular form of media and the twentieth century phenomenon which bring a new dimension and scope in advertising. The first commercial station was established in 1941. After World War II the popularity of television start increasing day by day and corporate find new ways of earning profits. NBC moves to television aggressively. Like radio television begin as a local medium but soon linked stations to a national medium. By 1954 NBC(National Broadcasting Company) and CBS (Columbia Broadcasting System) were the network leaders, trail by Dumont and ABC. Until 1955 television commercials were banned in UK. But in USA national advertisers followed the pattern of radio, they sponsor the whole programme and pay the whole cost of a single program but the networks took over their own programming , and they offered advertisers the opportunity to sponsor parts of shows.(William Philips, 1992). As the 1960s began, more than 90 percent of the us households owned a television set, today more than 99 percent of the household have television sets. The number of television commercials doubled since 1975. An average day commercial on television channel is 1000. In 1975 more than 90 percent of commercials were more than 30 seconds, but today just over 45 percent of the commercials last 30 seconds and 15-seconds commercial account for nearly 40 percent of all commercials. As the other end of the spectrum is infomercial.

Literature Review:
The non-personal communication of information usually paid for & usually persuasive in nature, about products (goods & services) or ideas by identified sponsor through various media. (Arens, Wei gold, Arens 2010).Although much of what we know about advertising and how it works has been learned relatively recently, advertising is hardly a new phenomenon.(Bovee, Thill, Dovel, & Wood. 1995) According to Bovee et al: (1995) Advertising is the paid, non personal communication of information about products or ideas by an identified sponsor through the mass media in an effort to persuade or influence behavior. Advertising is a form of communication used to encourage or persuade an audience (viewers, readers or listeners) to continue or take some new action. Advertising messages are usually paid for by sponsors and viewed via various traditional media; including mass media such as newspaper, magazines, television commercial, radio advertisement, outdoor advertising or direct mail; or new media such as websites and text messages.2 The tradition of wall and rock painting for commercial advertising is still present in many parts of Asia, Africa and South America. Indian rock art painting date back to 4000 BCE. (1.Bhatia, Tej K. 2000).Modern advertising developed with the rise of mass production in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.The activity or profession of producing advertisements for commercial products or services.3 n 2010, spending on advertising was estimated at $142.5 billion in the United States and $467 billion worldwide.

2 3

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advertising http://www.google.com.pk/search?client=opera&rls=en&q=define:advertising&sourceid=opera&ie=utf8&oe=utf-8&channel=suggest

References:
Court, L Bovee., John, V Thill., George, P Dovel., & Marian, Burk Wood., (1995). The foundations of advertising.ln Bonnie, K. Binkert & Ira C. Roberts (Eds.), Advertising Excellence (International Edition., pp.2-20)Mcgraw-Hill Inc Retrieved April 1, 2012, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advertising Bhatia, Tej K. (2000) Advertising In Rural India: Language, Marketing, Communication, and Consumerism Frank Presbrey, The history and development of advertising (Garden city, N.Y.;Doubleday, doran, 1929), 4, 14-16, 25; James Playsted Wood, The story of advertising (New York; Ronald Press, 1958), 18-24. Presbrey, The history and development of Advertising, 14-16, 492-491:Wood, The story of Advertising, 27-28. Wood, The story of advertising, 193-202; Leiss, kline and Jhally, Social Communication in advertising,100-101; Fox, The mirror makers28-35. Ed Papazlan, ed., Tv Dimensions 92 (New York:Media Dymanics,n.d,),3-5: William Philips, A century of Modern Advertising: From Fin de Siccle to Nervous Nineties,Admas, July-August 1992,11-16.
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